It's too early for creative titles

I have been getting requests for more blog updates. This can only mean one thing- I have fans! Hello, fans, how are you?

Today I bid you good morning from Huntington, West Virginia. There is not much to be said for Huntington, other than it has a good Tex-Mex restaurant called Chili Willi's, which is cute because my dog's name is Chile and we call him Chilly Willy a lot. Also at this restaurant, they have a lot of tequila. I know because I drank it. Which is why it's only 6:30 a.m. and I've been awake since 4 a.m. Yikes! Alcohol robs me of sleep.

So. We last left of in Washington, D.C., just before the National Race for the Cure. It was amazing. The city, the Race, everything. Big Pink was placed right in the middle of the National Mall, with an amazing view of the Capitol building on our right and the Washington monument on our left. In the middle were 40,000 people running, walking or volunteering for the Race for the Cure. Forty thousand! It was a sea of pink. Katie Couric was there. So was Ronald McDonald, who is obviously the bigger celebrity.

On our way out of town the big boss Kari took us to a BBQ restaurant in Georgetown called Old Glory. It was the best meal I've had since being on the road. It sort of reminded me of Memphis Smoke back in Royal Oak, but more authentic and just better overall. They had a rack of six BBQ sauces on the table and a basket of jalapeno corn muffins with honey peach butter as appetizers. Yum. Next time you are in DC, you should go there.

After one last stop in Virginia at a free clinic in Richmond, we headed to Charleston, West Virginia for an incredibly luxurious THREE days off in a row. At the Residence Inn. Residence Inns are our favorite hotel, because they have full kitchens and living rooms too. So we grocery shopped and cooked and grilled and played Apples to Apples, my new favorite game. Have you played it? It's so fun! Board game night when I get back in Chicago- who's in?!

Speaking of getting back to Chicago, I received the fantastic news this week that after flying into Detroit (where my car is stashed) on June 25th, I don't have to report back to work until JULY 5TH. How incredible is that? Here is a partial list of things I want to do in the city during my time off:

Museum of Science and Industry
Art Institute
Movie day in Oak Park
Visit the trumpeter swans at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Lots and lots of red tea caramel lattes
Sushi Toro
Board game night (Meryl, Bryan, Courtney, who's in?!)

Also, I am trying to think of something nice to do for myself when I get back as a sort of reward for being on the road for two months and not going insane. I thought about taking a trip, but I am sick of living out of a suitcase so that's out. I also thought about some sort of spa thing but I've never been really into that, though maybe I should consider it. And then I've thought about buying myself something nice, which is fun and all, but I kind of want to DO something rather than just pick something out. You know? Any suggestions?

Ok, it's time to take advantage of the continental breakfast before checking out and heading over to the hospital where we're exhibiting Big Pink today. I promise more updates- maybe even another one tonight. Ciao for now.

A Capital Time

I am in Washington, D.C. I love Washington, D.C.! Therefore I am happy. Two really wonderful things are happening today (a day off)- first, I am having lunch with one of my Virtual Team co-workers which is fantastic for so many reasons, not the least of which it means I will get a healthy dose of sarcasm and cynicism since, as she put it, I've been in the sarcasm Sahara for the last month.

Then tonight, I am having dinner with one of my most favorite AmeriCorps friends whom I haven't seen in FIVE YEARS. She was my saving grace throughout much of that year and is just one of those few female peers whom I have always admired and respected on every level. So I am beyond excited to catch up with her at last.

(Today's photo was taken a few weeks ago in Chicago, on the day of the Y-Me Breast Cancer Walk. Yet another reason why Chicago is such a fantastic city- they do fun things with the lights in their high-rise buildings!)

The last two days were low-key ones for KOTG. Yesterday we exhibited at a free clinic in Richmond, VA which is a great thing, but very low-traffic; I think we only had about 30 people come through all day. The day before we were at a grocery store called Ukrops, where it was also quite slow, maybe about 50 people.

It really is striking how universal breast cancer is. I always knew this; in my "regular" job on the virtual team I sometimes conduct what we call Focus meetings, where I cite statistics: one in 8 women will get breast cancer in their lifetime. A new diagnoses is made every 3 minutes. Someone will die from breast cancer every 20 minutes.

But somehow, being out here on the road has made those stats live and breathe in a way they never did when I recited them on those phone meetings. Every single day we talk to so many people who are survivors of breast cancer, or they lost a loved one, or they had a scare...the connections go on and on. In the last few days I've spoken to many women with close friends who just got diagnosed or just underwent a mastectomy. Sometimes they are very young and just got married or have small children. Sometimes they are old and have a high-risk lifestyle or family history. Either way, the stories wear on me after awhile. Even after a month of doing this on the road and a year and a half of doing it over the phone, it is hard to know how to respond.

There really isn't a good answer.

Tomorrow we are exhibiting on the National Mall for the National Race for the Cure- a huge HUGE deal. Our CEO is flying in and all the highest people from the Komen foundation will be there as well. We have to be up and running by 7 a.m. so that means we'll probably need to leave the hotel around 5 a.m. to go set up, which means 4:30 wake up. Crazy! But it'll be a great day.

Right now I am sitting on my bed in my hotel room, which has a humongous window overlooking a runway at Reagan International Airport. So I get to see all these planes take off, which is actually really cool and semi-hypnotic.